Harry C. Triandis

The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts.

Three aspects of the self(private, public, collective) with different probabilities in different kinds of social environments were sampled. Three dimensions of cultural variation (individualism--collectivism, tightness-looseness, cultural complexity) are discussed in relation to the sampling of these three aspects of the self. The more complex the culture, the more frequent the sampling of the public and private self and the less frequent the sampling of the collective self. The more individualistic the culture, the more frequent the sampling of the private self and the less frequent the sampling of the collective self. Collectivism, external threat, competition with outgroups, and common fate increase the sampling of the collective self. Cultural homogeneity results in tightness and in the sampling of the collective self. The article outlines theoretical links among aspects of the environment, childrearing patterns, and cultural patterns, which are linked to differential sampling of aspects of the self. Such sampling has implications for social behavior. Empirical investigations of some of these links are reviewed.

Individualism and collectivism: Cross-cultural perspectives on self-ingroup relationships.

The individualism and collectivism constructs are theoretically analyzed and linked to certain hypothesized consequences (social behaviors, health indices). Study 1 explores the meaning of these constructs within culture (in the United States), identifying the individual-differences variable, idiocentrism versus allocentrism, that corresponds to the constructs. Factor analyses of responses to items related to the constructs suggest that UrS. individualism is reflected in (a) Self-Reliance With Competition, (b) Low Concern for Ingroups, and (c) Distance from Ingroups. A higher order factor analysis suggests that Subordination oflngroup Goals to Personal Goals may be the most important aspect of U.S. individualism. Study 2 probes the limits of the constructs with data from two collectivist samples (Japan and Puerto Rico) and one individualist sample (Illinois) of students. It is shown that responses depend on who the other is (i.e., which ingroup), the context, and the kind of social behavior (e.g., feel similar to other, attentive to the views of others). Study 3 replicates previous work in Puerto Rico indicating that allocentric persons perceive that they receive more and a better quality of social support than do idiocentric persons, while the latter report being more lonely than the former. Several themes, such as self-reliance, achievement, and competition, have different meanings in the two kinds of societies, and detailed examinations of the factor patterns show how such themes vary across cultures.

Converging Measurement of Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism

The constructs of horizontal (H) and vertical (V) individualism (I) and collectivism (C) were theoretically defined and empirically supported. Study 1 confirmed, via factor analysis, that the 4 constructs, HI, VI, HC, and VC, which were previously found in the United States, which has an individualist culture, also were found in Korea, which has a collectivist culture. Study 2 investigated multimethod-multitrait matrices measuring the constructs and generally supported their convergent and divergent validity. Study 3 showed how these 4 constructs relate to previously identified components by H. C. Triandis and colleagues. Study 4 showed the relationships of the measurement of the 4 constructs to some of the measures used by other researchers.

Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions of Individualism and Collectivism: A Theoretical and Measurement Refinement

In developing a new scale, this article makes theoretical and measurement distinctions between vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism. Vertical collectivism includes perceiving the selfas a part (or an aspect) of a collective and accepting inequalities within the collective. Horizontal collectivism includes perceiving the self as a part of the collective, but seeing all members of the collective as the same; thus equality is stressed. Vertical individualism includes the conception of an autonomous individual and acceptance of inequality. Horizontal individualism includes the conception of an autonomous individual and emphasis on equality. Measurement of these constructs is preferable theoretically and empirically (better internal consistency) to either of the more general constructs of individualism and collectivism or the constituent elements of these constructs, such as self-reliance, hedonism, family integrity, and so on. The usefulness of these theoretical distinctions is demonstrated and their implications are discussed.

Individualism-Collectivism and Personality

This paper provides a review of the main findings concerning the relationship between the cultural syndromes of individualism and collectivism and personality. People in collectivist cultures, compared to people in individualist cultures, are likely to define themselves as aspects of groups, to give priority to in-group goals, to focus on context more than the content in making attributions and in communicating, to pay less attention to internal than to external processes as determinants of social behavior, to define most relationships with ingroup members as communal, to make more situational attributions, and tend to be self-effacing.

Measurement in Cross-Cultural Psychology A Review and Comparison of Strategies

Notions of equivalence in cross-cultural measurement were related to the abstraction-concreteness and the universality-cultural difference continua. Various methods proposed for attaining satisfactory measurement were reviewed and compared within this framework. Each strategy has its own merits and shortcomings. Moreover, the level of cross-cultural equivalence presupposed, the type of equivalence demonstrated and/or improved, and the equivalence assumptions doubted or explicitly rejected are different for different strategies. It was suggested that the strategies are complementary to each other. More than one strategy should be employed and combined for more meaningful and precise measurement.

The Psychological Measurement of Cultural Syndromes.

An examination of a range of definitions of culture indicates that almost all researchers agree that culture is reflected in shared cognitions, standard operating procedures, and unexamined assumptions. Cultural syndromes consist of shared attitudes, beliefs, norms, role and self definitions, and values of members of each culture that are organized around a theme. Two methods of measurement of syndromes that allow the examination of the convergence of the data from each method in each culture are (a) the identification of questionnaire items to which an arbitrary 90% of each sample responds on the same side of the neutral point and (b) the identification of items to which an arbitrary 90% of triads--consisting of members of each culture--agree among themselves in fewer than 60 seconds on the appropriate response to the item. The shorter the time to reach agreement, the more likely it is that the item is an element of culture. Examples of these approaches are presented, and discussion focuses on how to obtain good descriptions of cultures through psychological methods.

Individualism-Collectivism A Study of Cross-Cultural Researchers

Individualism and collectivism are terms used by both social scientists and the public, but there are few systematic studies of this dimension. A sample of psychologists and anthropologists from all parts of the world was asked to respond to a questionnaire the way they believe an individualist and a collectivist would respond. The questionnaire described 10 target persons in seven situations. The responses converged, suggesting that there is consensus about the meaning of the dimension. Accordingly, collectivism can be defined as (1) concern by a person about the effects of actions or decisions on others, (2) sharing of material benefits, (3) sharing of nonmaterial resources, (4) willingness of the person to accept the opinions and views of others, (5) concern about self-presentation and loss of face, (6) belief in the correspondence of own outcomes with the outcomes of others, and (7) feeling of involvement in and contribution to the lives of others. Individualists show less concern, sharing, and so on than collectivists. The approach can be used with other relatively unstudied constructs to establish whether there is consensus among researchers about the meaning of a construct.

Allocentric versus idiocentric tendencies: Convergent and discriminant validation ☆

Abstract Allocentric tendencies were studied with a multimethod questionnaire and Illinois undergraduates. Nine scales measuring different aspects of allocentrism were shown to have good reliability and to be intercorrelated, thus showing convergent validity. Factor analysis identified three aspects: subordination of personal to group goals, the ingroup as extension of the self, and ingroup identity. The scales also had satisfactory discriminant validity. Those high on idiocentric tendencies used equity and those high in allocentric tendencies used equality and need in distributing rewards. A second study found that those who are allocentric are more likely to emphasize the values of cooperation, equality , and honesty , and those who are idiocentric to emphasize the values of comfortable life, competition, pleasure , and social recognition . Those who were allocentric reported receiving more social support and a better quality of social support; those who were idiocentric were higher in achievement motivation, alienation, anomie, and reported greater loneliness.

Simpatía as a cultural script of Hispanics.

Abstract : A cultural script is a pattern of social interaction which is characteristic of a particular cultural group. Simpatia, and its component harmony, or the emphasis on positive behaviors in positive situations (e.g., complimenting somebody who has done a good job) and the de-emphasis of negative behaviors in negative situations (e.g., criticising) may be a Hispanic cultural script. Lower status individuals are not supposed to show aggression even when their rights are taken away. The data indicate that Hispanic recruits expect more positive behaviors in positive social situations and de-emphasize the appropriateness of negative behaviors in situations of conflict, particularly when the actor is of lower status. The implications of these findings for the Navy is that Hispanics are likely to have higher levels of expectations concerning the appropriateness of positive behaviors (e.g., receiving a compliment if they do a good job) than Mainstream recruits. Thus, they will feel underrewarded in situations where they do a good job. Conversely, they will expect less expression of criticism from lower status individuals, and therefore even mild criticism from such individuals might be seen as extreme criticism. (Author)